3 Things About Workaholics Leaders Should Factor In

We talk a lot about how leaders can improve employee engagement and recognize hard work and motivation. But what about those who can’t or don’t want to disengage? The workaholics.

In a survey published just before the COVID outbreak, 48% of American respondents considered themselves a workaholic. That same study revealed that respondents spent an average of four hours a week thinking about work after leaving for the day, and 58% of respondents admitted they checked emails immediately upon waking up.

Leaders are likely recognize when a member of their team is a workaholic. But they may only sometimes know that workaholics need to be managed, communicated with, and redirected in different ways.

How Workaholics are Different

The functioning workaholics in your organization are likely top performers. But there are different kinds of workaholics, and they all impact your company culture, interact with others differently, and vary on whether or not they recognize that they are “workaholics.”

There are the endurance athlete workaholics who thrive on pushing themselves as hard as they can and those who are overwhelmed and feel that they just can’t leave work behind. While the endurance athlete can be a win for your company, the overwhelmed can be a ticking time bomb. Here are three things leaders should keep in mind about workaholics.

1. What’s the Motivation?

If you think you have a workaholic on your team, take a look at their motivation. There’s nothing wrong with a person who pushes themselves to work long hours, ponders innovative solutions over the weekend, and enjoys being needed at all hours – if they thrive under pressure and find their contributions are valued. For these work endurance junkies, work is not just a way to earn a paycheck but something that excites them.

Entirely different is a person who consistently brings work home and can’t disconnect on vacation because they feel overwhelmed. Understanding “why” behind the long hours is key to determining whether work for this person is rewarding or problematic. It can lead to decoding the best ways to maximize productivity and protect against potential disasters.

2. Boundaries are Healthy

Workaholism is in the perception, but not only in the perception of the workaholic.

Workaholism can become problematic if it negatively affects others. For example, workaholic leaders might make employees feel stressed when they repeatedly expect them to attend calls or events outside of business hours. Since technology has blurred the lines between work and home hours, this has become more common.

Workaholics do not perform in a bubble. Their peers, their direct reports, and other stakeholders are often pressured into keeping up the workaholic’s breakneck pace. Just as a weekend jogger won’t be able to keep up with a marathon runner for long, your workaholic needs to understand they may not be able to expect the same pace from others in your company.

Executive coaching can help workaholics with setting boundaries. Like, think twice before sending a 3 AM email. It may not feel out of place, but it could cause the recipient a great deal of stress. Boundaries around communicating off-hours is a way of demonstrating respect for others.

3. Taking a Step Back

One of the most challenging parts of working with a workaholic is when they get to the point where their pace and persistence negatively impact their performance. Whether repeated minor oversites, critical mistakes, or habitual lack of judgment, their approach is no longer benefiting them, your team, or your company.

Here’s where leaders can lean on an impartial leadership expert like an executive coach to decide if the most viable solution is a minor course correction or complete change. Asking someone who derives personal value from their professional accomplishments to step back can hit hard. Some people dedicate their entire lives to their work, and changing directions or speeds might feel like failure.

Technology and the prevalence of global markets mean performance requirements differ from past generations. It takes introspection to realize when peak performance and a workaholic pace diverge. Even the most dedicated workaholics might realize they need to take a break, however, when they take a closer look.

Professional and organizational growth flourishes when you have high-impact leaders who think and act as a team. Liddell Consulting provides highly individualized executive coaching programs to increase leadership effectiveness. Contact us today to see how we can help you achieve greater success.